Space news

In response to a recommendation by an independent study team for NASA to play a more prominent role in understanding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), the agency announced Thursday it is appointing a director of UAP research.

NASA Independent Study Team releases final report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.

For decades, the promise of a faster and more responsive launch capability has seduced military strategists who have looked for ways to get satellites to orbit quickly in response to […]

While there is growing interest in providing connectivity by satellites directly to phones, there is no consensus on how quickly that market will grow, or even what that market should be called.

The People’s Liberation Army has established Base 3 to improve its space domain awareness capabilities, according to a report.

With a recent funding round and growing demand for its radio-frequency geolocation capabilities, HawkEye 360’s chief executive says the company has reached an “inflection point” on the path towards profitability and potentially going public.

SES is looking at other options to consolidate the space industry after merger talks with Intelsat broke down. SpaceNews interviewed newly appointed SES CEO Ruy Pinto as the multi-orbit operator prepares to receive billions of dollars in C-band clearing proceeds.

During a ceremony at the German Ambassador's Residence in Washington on Thursday, Germany became the 29th country to sign the Artemis Accords. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency, and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR Dr. Walther Pelzer signed on behalf of Germany.

SpaceX’s ability to quickly change and update services has been awkward for resellers, an executive for the low Earth orbit broadband constellation said Sep. 13.

A list of useful words and terms relating to lunar and solar eclipses.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study found that European industry could generate between €5.9 and €9.9 billion between 2028 and 2040 by developing and operating a crewed space launch capability. The Socio-Economic Elements of European Human Space Transportation (HST) study was commissioned by the European Space Agency and completed in December 2022. In addition to finding that […] The post European Industry Could Generate €9.9 Billion From Crewed Launch appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Payloads: Circadian Light: The Circadian Light start-of-next-day assessment was performed. The Circadian Light investigation tests a new lighting system to help astronauts maintain an acceptable circadian rhythm. This can help enhance cognitive performance during a long-duration mission and help combat monotony through automated, varied, and gradually changing lighting sequences and settings. Earthshine from ISS: Earthshine …

U.S. Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said the Space Force is finalizing a blueprint for how it will integrate commercial satellite services into military activities.

"I'm really excited to see how my body does when I return."

With the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) having closed the mishap investigation into the anomaly during the first Integrated Flight Test of Starship, SpaceX is waiting for its launch license for the second test flight of the world’s most powerful rocket.

United Launch Alliance, one of just two U.S. companies that provide national security launch services, does not have a problem with DoD’s decision to add a third competitor, a senior ULA executive said Sept. 13.

NASA has released the full list of In Flight Anomalies (IFAs) from the Artemis 1 mission to TLP Network via a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request.

SpaceX Vice President of Starlink, Jonathan Hofeller, said today that the company is no longer taking a hit financially for producing Starlink...

PARIS – Elon Musk’s SpaceX is no longer absorbing the cost of the Starlink antennas that it sells with its satellite internet service, a company executive said on Wednesday, a key step to the company improving its profitability.

Esri is closely integrating its ArcGIS geographic mapping platform with Microsoft Azure Space.

Global satellite fleet operator Intelsat announced an agreement Sept. 12 with Aalyria Technologies to dramatically speed up satellite communications.

NASA and the other partners on the International Space Station have approved the crew of the third private astronaut mission by Axiom Space, scheduled to launch in early 2024.

PARIS – European satellite operator SES is teaming up with SpaceX’s Starlink to offer a combined service to cruise operators, the companies announced on Wednesday.

SpaceX and SES are pooling their broadband satellites to offer cruise operators an integrated service promising up to 3 gigabits per second of capacity per ship.

Swissto12 has raised about $28 million in debt to scale up a manufacturing business seeking to disrupt the geostationary market with much smaller satellites, the 3D printing specialist said Sept. 13.

A new decadal survey for biological and physical sciences research in space recommends that NASA increase its spending on such activities by a factor of 10, a move the study says would restore such work to historical levels.

Grand plans for long-term human exploration of space require extensive research into how humans adapt to the space environment and that means increased funding for biological and physical sciences research […]

The three companies with multibillion-dollar contracts to launch Amazons’s Project Kuiper constellation say they are committed to deploying those satellites on schedule despite delays in the development of their vehicles.

Gen. Chance Saltzman announced the Space Force will experiment with a new command structure where a unit is responsible for all aspects of a mission area, including training, procurement and operations.

Phase Four’s Maxwell Block 2 radio-frequency thruster has been demonstrated on a commercial satellite.

Astronaut Frank Rubio Breaks the U.S. Record for Longest Spaceflight: Yesterday, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio broke the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, spending his 355th consecutive day on the ISS. Rubio is scheduled to land on September 27th and will ultimately spend 371 consecutive days in orbit. Payloads: Exploration Environmental …

Intelsat expects to decide whether to proceed with plans for a medium Earth orbit constellation early next year after requesting proposals from nine satellite makers, an executive for the geostationary fleet operator said Sept. 12.

This morning, NASA and its international partners cleared the crew of 4 who will fly aboard Crew Dragon early next year as part of the Axiom 3 mission, operated by Axiom Space.

A NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are set to launch to the International Space Station on Friday, Sept. 15. The U.S. space agency will provide full coverage of launch and crew’s arrival at the microgravity laboratory.

NASA and its international partners approved the crew for Axiom Space’s third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, launching from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than January 2024.

A new study report may help NASA define and align biological and physical sciences research to uniquely advance scientific knowledge, meet human and robotic exploration mission needs, and provide benefits for all over the next decade.

In six months, Portuguese startup NeuraSpace has gone from 25 to 250 satellites on its space traffic management platform.

NASA will host a media briefing at 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 14, at the agency’s headquarters in Washington to discuss the findings from an unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) independent study team it commissioned in 2022.

DLA Piper, an international law firm that advises space industry companies and investors, announced Sept. 12 it is expanding its legal practice focused on space.

New Shepard is scheduled to launch in early October on its return-to-flight mission.

PARIS – A Lazard investment banker sounded the alarm about the dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the rocket launch market, as the industry waits for U.S. competitors to begin flying new vehicles.

Arianespace will launch a small geostationary communication satellite for Intelsat on an Ariane 6 in 2026, a sign of a stable, but diminished, role for such satellites in the commercial launch market.

With sights set on the world’s most lucrative space and defense market, many overseas companies have set up shop in the United States.

Comtech Telecommunications plans to provide government and commercial customers with communications networks designed to be established in a matter of hours.

Bremen-based startup POLARIS Spaceplanes has announced the completion of a 15-flight test campaign of its MIRA-Light demonstration vehicle. MIRA-Light is a subscale version of the company’s MIRA vehicle, a 4.25-metre spaceplane demonstrator that will be the first to be equipped with the company’s linear aerospike rocket engine. The smaller test vehicle measures 2.5 metres and […] The post POLARIS Spaceplanes Completes MIRA-Light Vehicle Test Campaign appeared first on European Spaceflight.

SpaceX launched two back-to-back Starlink missions this week. The first mission, Starlink Group 7-2, launched 21 satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 4 East at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff occurred Monday, Sept. 11, at 11:57 PM PDT (06:57 UTC on Sept. 12).

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said his department is comfortable working with SpaceX despite recent reports about Elon Musk restricting the use of the company’s Starlink satellite services in Ukraine.

The arrival of SpaceX’s broadband service has transformed satellite communications and what customers expect from other companies in the market, executives on a panel of legacy operators said Sept. 11.

Ball Aerospace won a $486.9 million contract to deliver a sounder for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Extended Observations satellite program.

Given the number of people who lack reliable terrestrial network connectivity, the addressable market is worth “$100 billion or even more,” according to Euroconsult.